Extended Visit Only For You
by Kaji Hikage
Summary: He's a breakthrough writer, actor and veritable sex symbol. She just happens to be a concierge who plays piano. And somehow, they just happen to meet.
1. Chapter One

Extended Visit...but Only For You: Chapter One  
He exited the theater doors confidently, no swagger to his stride necessary to facilitate that undeniable smugness he retained while also appearing totally appealing.  
  
"Li-san!"  
  
Cameras flashed like thousands of electric bugs around the young phenomenon as he strode casually down the red carpet. His attire was nothing short of impeccable and his expression was everything defined by the word sensual. Dark, stylish shades covered his eyes, making his true thoughts less discernible than normal but that was the least of the current paparazzi's qualms.  
  
Those eyes, they needed to catch a shot of those eyes.  
  
They were apart of his vehicle to fame and during the lengthy period of his stardom, the public had known him as that which he was: Amber Eyes.  
  
This was Li Syaoran, man of many women's dreams [and none were ever too fantastical it seemed] and also the man of many men's nightmares [who were always grinding their teeth whenever their girlfriends or worse, wives sighed after the handsome young man.]  
  
For almost a year he had been the center of the news, the brightest star in the sky, the crème de la crème. And he showed no signs of surrendering his position as such. Li Syaoran after all, very much enjoyed the attention he was given, and it was given in such overly ampleness that sometimes one wondered how seriously he took it all.  
  
Of course, no one but him knew.  
  
He flashed the crowd one of his many perfect smiles and waved in an almost friendly manner. To the public, he was untouchable though and they all knew it. For as popular, as desired, as respected and envied as Li Syaoran was, he had a wall built around him, a nice, sturdy, thick wall. It was laced with the message that told most people to, bluntly, keep their distance.  
  
Yes, he was untouchable, but that only made him more desirable it seemed, as an idol, as a dream, and as a relative sex symbol.  
  
People always wanted what they couldn't have.  
  
"Li-san! Can you tell us when your next novel will be out?"  
  
That was his profession, a writer. Odd that not more of them ever reached the top as he had, it was. It helped that all of his books had been made into movies and he had been in...all of them. That helped indeed. He wrote mostly beautiful fantasy stories, each with a whimsical fairy-tale like spin that had so many women pining after him it was almost sick. Except that it was completely understandable, because he was so very irresistible. His writing excelled beyond his years and was infamous not only in Japan but the great capital of his home, China, reaching even across wider waters to the enormous continent holding the United States, where much of his work was popular, if greatly due to his looks, more so than his artistry.  
  
Because the moment the public first saw his face at this blossoming age of beauty, about eighteen, they knew what they wanted.  
  
They wanted more.  
  
And they got more. Newspapers plastered his image across their front pages; other movies had him doing unusually lengthy cameos; interviews were constantly being requested. There seemed to be in fact, no end to his fans and their reservoirs of attention, solely for him. He liked it that way.  
  
Reaching the limousine door, he stopped before opening it and entering his white chariot.  
  
"You'll just have to wait and see," he smirked good-naturedly and the door clicked serenely shut before the well-trained chauffeur sped off, quick to become a distant speck of white in the night's lonely darkness.  
  
--------------------------  
  
Across town, a young girl, perhaps eighteen or thereabouts, kindly greeted the incoming customers to the finest restaurant that side of Tokyo...or any side of Tokyo for that matter.  
  
Her smile was irrepressibly cheerful and she had a way with people. She certainly had a way with her long-time friend Yue who otherwise could not have been cajoled into doing this "summer job blasphemy" with her. As it was, the lithe and beautiful youth stood not a few feet away from the cheery girl, expressionless and somewhat sulky as he helped people bring their valises and other baggage [such as rich and screaming children] to their rooms.  
  
The doors binged open again as the girl was waving kindly to the other current residents in the hotel, smiling brightly. She turned to greet the new person, or persons, as this would have it. At first she was appalled to see bright flashing going on outside the hotel this late at night; then she realized with a sigh of relief that it was only more cameras. They got a lot of that here; it being the most well-renowned and well-kept place to stay, they got a lot of celebrities, resident and foreign.  
  
Sakura, for that was this green-eyed angel's name, absently blew a puff of air out the corner of her mouth in relative but muted resignation. She had long since given up the fight with her managers that their guests should be allowed to stay without the paparazzi constantly standing outside their doors. No, they said to her blithely; it was too good and free publicity to pursue banning it.  
  
So the cameras and the reporters and the news crews stayed.  
  
Pensively, Sakura wondered who, or what, she thought amusedly, celebrity she would have the "honor" of meeting this time, and of course, pleasantly ushering their usually primped and pompous selves into this nice, pristine hotel. Wherein, Yue would then grumble something that wasn't meant for the ears of children, Sakura would laugh softly at him, and they would share a secret smile only best friends did before parting to do their separate jobs once more. Speaking of Yue...  
  
"So what is it this time?" came a none too pleased voice from behind her, obviously disliking the idea of catering to yet another spoiled movie star, or singer, or...circus animal as Yue thought many of them should be re- categorized into. They certainly acted as bad, or rather, worse. At least circus animals listened to directions. Celebrities were in a world of their own though, above the laws of common logic and apparently, egotistical enough to account for their lack of brain cells. This was the rather bleak stereotype such people had made for themselves in the past.  
  
People just like Li Syaoran.  
  
"I have no idea Yue. Don't sound so happy about it," she joked and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, none too softly either.  
  
"Feh. What's there to be happy about? I still don't know how on earth you got me to ever agree to this...this..." Yue struggled to find the most appropriate and equally despicable term he could muster.  
  
"Job?" Sakura supplied, innocently and in a tone that supposed she was also doing it helpfully. Yue knew better than to take what was on the mere surface of those beautiful green eyes though. He wasn't her best friend for nearly ten years for nothing. Oh no. Yue saw many things others did not in Sakura. The only one who saw more, perhaps, was her very best friend, Daidouji Tomoyo who was currently out of town with her mother Sonomi, chief of a very large corporate company.  
  
Right now, Yue saw mischief lying beneath those green orbs and shook his head in light scorn.  
  
"Job my foot! This is...is...punishment!" he finally decided upon. It wasn't nearly as grandiose as he had hoped for, nor was it as eloquent, but it embodied his feelings quite perfectly. It certainly felt like punishment to pedal push people's random things they thought to be necessary in life around like a well-trained goat.  
  
"Is that so? Is it also cruel and unusual?" Sakura teased.  
  
"Yes, yes it is. And as such, I think it ought to be an illegal crime of great proportions!" Yue stated so seriously, Sakura could no longer repress her threatening laughter. It was like a child's laugh, light and carefree, beautiful and pure. Yue couldn't help but relent a small chuckle himself; her laughter was positively infectious.  
  
"And I think Yue is a big baby!" Sakura smirked.  
  
"Am not!"  
  
"Are too!" she grinned and tapped him on the nose like he was a naughty child, much to his mortification. At which point, he chose to turn his back to her and mutter some more things that were perhaps even more inappropriate for children than his previous obscenities and also at which point, Sakura mentally tallied their points.  
  
Sakura nine, Yue two. That was the score thus far.  
  
Best friends they were indeed, but they did not go a day without small and insincere spats like these ones; there were always at least five. Today had been particularly record breaking with twelve so far and counting. As was apparent, Sakura usually won, though as to specifically whether it was due to Yue's lack of perseverance when arguing with her or her own possession of spades of it, she wasn't sure. She let Yue mumble to himself a while before nudging him slightly. The doors had previously shut since the aforementioned newcomer was spending such a great deal of time tending to his camera fanatic fans but now binged open again, and with such a force that compelled Sakura and Yue to believe this person coming through commanded a presence unlike any other.  
  
They had no idea.  
  
As the flashing of the cameras died down, a figure strolled in, followed swiftly by bird-like assistants who chirped and chattered at him many things that passed right over Yue and Sakura who could only shrug to each other. This man was tall obviously, though no taller than Yue was now. He had tousled chocolate brown hair that looked positively sinful to run one's hands through [and it was] as well as what the two best friends were to soon find was an ever-present smirk on his chiseled features, eyes covered by a pair of extremely expensive shades.  
  
"Hello sir and welcome to the Hikari. Please let me know if there is any way I can be of assistance to you or yours during your stay. Should I be unavailable, one of the other concierges will gladly substitute me," Sakura ran her well-oiled lines smoothly, her fluid voice tinting them with a sincerity that was profound and honest, just like her. The man before her seemed to stare at her a moment and then slowly removed his sunglasses and it was all Sakura could do not to gape.  
  
There were the most amazing eyes she had ever seen.  
  
And they were a vivid amber.  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Review please, ne? ^_~ I'd appreciate it. If you think I should continue this fic, let me know. "Work With Me" was discontinued due to some complex matters but until I can bring it back up, this is what I came up with.  
  
Let me know onegai?  
  
-Kaji Hikage 


	2. Chapter Two

Extended Visit Only For You: Chapter Two  
"Sir?" the beautiful cherry blossom prompted the man before her who was still staring at her rather analytically, as though he was deciphering some foreign code found on her immaculate visage. He seemed to shake himself free of that though as her voice reached his ears and, gathering himself in an abrupt hurry, he nodded briefly to her in the first acknowledgement he had shown.  
  
"Thank you for your hospitality," he paused, waiting for her to supply a name.  
  
"Kinomoto, Sakura Kinomoto," she bowed slightly in formal Japanese custom and he suavely reciprocated.  
  
"Now, Kinomoto-san, where should I and my colleagues go? Will you be directing us?" Syaoran asked, careful to conceal the muted hope he didn't even fully recognize himself yet.  
  
"No, but Tsukishiro will do that for me," she smiled benignly at him, no longer lost in his depthless amber eyes, which she noted could be listed under the heading of dangerous weapons...one could drown in those forever, she contemplated absently and then blushed. This was not like her, no. She did not like complete strangers and most certainly she did not like this particular complete stranger.  
  
After all, they hardly knew each other!  
  
Her subconscious laughed at her unabashedly.  
  
Correction, it smirked at her internally; you don't know each other at all.  
"Tsukishiro-san I presume," Syaoran nodded to Yue who in turn did the same and wordlessly stepped forward to unburden him and his 'colleagues' of their baggage. Sakura stifled a giggle as she watched Yue lead the congregation of high class and fashion towards the elevators; he certainly did not look happy at all.  
  
Then a voice startled her out of her thinking.  
  
"Sakura-chan, how could you do that to poor defenseless Yue?" a charmingly lovely voice suppressed her own laughter as Sakura turned and lit up at the sight of the one and only Daidouji Tomoyo.  
  
"Tomoyo-chan! I can't believe you're here; I thought you and your mother would be gone for at least another week," Sakura smiled as she embraced the raven-haired beauty in a warm hug.  
  
"I know, but she let me come back early. Besides, I need my beautiful Sakura-chan to help me model my new line of designs," Tomoyo's composed and mature face dissolved into one of a pleading and beseeching child in the space of two point six seconds. And as usual, though Sakura put up a valiant protest, one of her best in years in fact, she surrendered to them. There was something about Tomoyo that just couldn't be denied.  
  
Tomoyo's puppy-dog eyes, as she called them, were also under the listing of dangerous weapons. The classic beauty could get anyone to do anything for her with them; it was almost scary. Except it was Tomoyo, which essentially for most people, took a great deal of the fear factor away. Sakura was exempt of course because she, unlike untold dozens of men who approached Tomoyo, knew the imminent mischief that lay behind those indigo-blue eyes and she was wary.  
  
But, her being only Kinomoto Sakura and she being The Daidouji Tomoyo, well as things usually turned out, Sakura tended to give in to the latter more often than not.  
  
Fortunately, as they were the very best of friends, she didn't really seem to mind.  
  
"So, what illumination of your genius will you be forcing this unworthy personage to wear this time?" Sakura laughed.  
  
"More like what 'illuminations' my dear," Tomoyo grinned and Sakura had to repress the urge to groan. Of course, she should have known it was not singular when it came to her designs; whenever she came out with a line she meant it. It was a line of clothes, all brilliantly designed and made, most of which she would likely be donning in Tomoyo's next publicity stunt, also known as a fashion show.  
  
"Whatever you say Tomoyo-chan," Sakura replied pleasantly before asking in a suddenly shrewd manner, "So who's the big kicker at this upcoming show? A movie star, a director, a pop idol?" It was no surprise that at every Daidouji fashion show, something or someone famous made a glitzy and publicly unexpected entrance. Of course, this was all a carefully laid out plan by Tomoyo herself who knew that by giving surprise celebrities free tickets to her exclusive shows, the excessive press was unprecedented. It was a good tactic, and Tomoyo knew it.  
  
"Hm, well you could say he's a bit of an actor and a writer," Tomoyo replied and continued, "I haven't actually met him myself before and don't have his name off the top of my head, but I hear he's a little full of himself."  
  
"Gossip, gossip, that's all probably. Most people are very down to earth once you crack their outer shell; look at Yue," Sakura grinned as said person was approaching them with an empty baggage cart, obviously done with his precious excursion.  
  
"What about me you little schemer?" he grumbled.  
  
"Schemer? Me? Why Yue I am shocked. You know very well I never make you do anything you don't want to," Sakura smiled sweetly to an unaffected Yue; one had to build up some kind of resistance to Sakura's ever cheerful water off a duck's back mannerisms after befriending her for so long. Or so one would hope, especially Yue.  
  
"Of course not, you only make it sound like I want to do it when you know I don't until I am so confused by your constant barrage that I absolutely have to do what you insist is for the best," Yue summed up matter-of- factly.  
  
"And isn't it always?" Sakura retorted, almost blandly but with a hint of amusement in her sparkling emerald eyes.  
"Right," was all Yue would reply with and Tomoyo stifled a giggle. Yue scowled at her. Apparently not stifled enough.  
  
"Kinomoto!" a young man, older than her perhaps though by five years approached the threesome, black hair falling into his vivid blue eyes that, as they were, already shielded in elegant silver frames.  
  
"Yes Hiiragizawa-san?" she smiled.  
  
"Don't forget, you're to play in the mid-level soon, like always," he reminded her in a familiar manner that suggested the two were more than superior and worker. And they were. They were also friends.  
  
"I know, I know. I do this every night Hiiragizawa-san. Give me some credit," she sounded sulky but it was purposeful and drew forth the desired outcome. Hiiragizawa Eriol's face frowned slightly and he absently pushed the center of his glasses up the bridge of his nose; they were forever sliding down.  
  
"Forgive me Kinomoto-san. I just thought to remind you so you might not forget in your meeting with Daidouji-san here," he said and Sakura's sulky tone left her as she shrugged good-naturedly.  
  
"I was kidding you know. Don't be so serious. I think you need a vacation Mr. President," she joked. Well he was the President, of the Hikari Hotel chain anyway.  
  
"Yes, yes," Hiiragizawa nodded apologetically before running off to attack some poor busboy about his lack of coordination.  
  
"Eriol's gotten rather...busy hasn't he?" Tomoyo asked pensively. Sakura's sharp green eyes flashed with the observation of something that might come to pass but she hid it well and pasted over it a blank and genki [cheerful] expression.  
"Maybe, but deep down he's just the same old trouble maker. I'm positive it was him who dumped those five pitchers of ice cold water down the laundry shoots last week," Sakura shook her head and turned slightly away from the two, Yue smirking at her humor and Tomoyo grinning.  
"Where you going?" Yue asked absently.  
"You know, you know," Sakura groaned and added, "The mid-level, remember?" Yue hit himself, mentally of course and nodded. The word 'duh' came to mind but Yue would never bring himself down to that level of vocabulary as far as vocalization. Not if he could avoid it anyway.  
"Bye then Sakura-chan, I'll be seeing you soon," Tomoyo winked and waved to Yue as well, "See you late Yue. Take care of our little cherry blossom!" And the infamous designer and business woman was out the automatic doors in a flash, off to her next order of business no doubt.  
Sakura bid Yue a good-bye as well and set out for her quarters. Before playing she had to get into uniform, or dress-code. It was a different one from her concierge attire. Slipping the card-key out of her back pocket, Sakura approached a door at the end of a hallway, located of course, on the first floor. The light flashed green and she was in.  
  
It was small, like any worker's room in a hotel. But it was home for now and Sakura's magic touch seemed to make it appear bigger than it really was. Sighing, she ran her tapered fingers through her hair, short as it was now, she still had a habit of doing so. Some said it made her look to childish, but after elementary school she had grown it out long and decided when she graduated high school, she missed her short hair. Her mother Nadeshiko, had had long, wavy gorgeous hair but somehow, Sakura knew that the way her hair was now, well, it suited her.  
Framing her eyes, the bangs created a softening effect that served to make her seem attractive in her own way. She wasn't the normal, sexy, super- model type, but she was Sakura and that in itself was an attribute to her beauty. Unbuttoning the collared white shirt, she exchanged it and her black slacks for a pale green gown, floor-length, soft and elegant.  
Every night at the hotel there was a formal dinner, so any of the people involved in the night's festivities, staff included, had to follow the fancy dress code. It wasn't revealing but it had an easy sloping neckline, sleeveless and made of a silky material that was a compliment to her fair skin and added extenuation of her green eyes. Around her neck she clasped a plain silver necklace with a teardrop pendant, a petite diamond, a present from Tomoyo a few years back. Then she stepped back to examine her handiwork.  
  
Well, she was no Tomoyo but then again, who was?  
  
She still looked good and anyone who said differently would be branded and sold a dead-straight liar for saying so. She looked very, very good. Of course, Sakura only saw that she was wearing the proper clothes for the calling, not that she was pretty or beautiful because that wasn't how Sakura saw things, especially not herself. So, satisfied, she stepped out of her room, a slightly silver purse on her arm and she made her way to the mid-level, oblivious to the appreciative stares numerous men gave her and the numerous lady-friends of those same men who proceeded to glare at her and yell at their boyfriends or husbands for being so uncouth.  
  
No she was just focused on one thing now.  
  
Sakura sat the bag down below the large black instrument and opened the cover delicately, flexing her fingers experimentally.  
  
And then she began to play.  
  
Her music was melodious with a touch of sincerity that evoked emotion from anyone passing by and it was precisely why she was chosen for this job as well as her concierge duties.  
  
She loved the music and the music loved her.  
Li Syaoran straightened his tuxedo, mentally thanking his secretary for getting a black one instead of a white one.  
  
White just wasn't his color when it came to tuxes.  
  
Giving himself one last look-over in the mirror in his deluxe suite, Syaoran idly flicked the lights off and exited his suite, suave and debonair in every way, the epitome of tall, relatively dark, and damn straight handsome.  
  
Damn straight.  
  
Women gawked and gaped at his finery, both natural and unnatural, meaning his fine looks and his fine clothes. This was him. This was Li Syaoran, infamous author and actor. This was him.  
  
Hiiragizawa would later have to deal with re-routing his entire staff so that the female members, most of them anyway, were not around Li-san usually. They caused an awful ruckus when added to the already disruptive female guest list they had.  
  
Awful ruckus.  
  
And he, Syaoran, knowing full-well the flurry of things he caused, well, he smirked. He smirked knowing he did these things, knowing he could do these things at all. He was so busy congratulating himself on his entrance that he was startled out of his own mind by a beautiful sound.  
  
A piano?  
  
His amber eyes scanned the room he had just entered; grand like every other part of the Hikari, he marveled briefly at the molding and the etching, the carpet and the gilding. Then he marveled at the piano and its player and all things stopped right there.  
  
Piano player.  
  
Green eyes.  
  
Light brown hair.  
  
Incomparably astounding smile.  
  
And then, as that man from before...Syaoran struggled to remember his name...Tsukishiro Yue approached her briefly, commented on something and made her laugh.  
  
A sparkling laugh and she was still playing like nothing had fazed her.  
  
Maybe nothing had.  
And as Yue left her side by the piano, her playing, her fingers gliding like magic across the keys, Li Syaoran realized that for the first time in his life, instead of being stared at, he was the one doing the staring.  
And he didn't really mind.  
Not one bit.  
-------------------------------------------- Alrightie, took me long enough I know.  
  
So review if you want more, ne?  
  
And Thankies to all who reviewed/ are reviewing already! Keep doing so. My ego just loves it. ^_~ Hehe.  
  
But really, thank you.  
  
-Kaji 


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer-craziness wheeeeeee! NO OWN CCS, but the story is mine...ehe...maybe I don't want to claim ownership for it though...~_~

Extended Visit Only For You: Chapter Three 

"You've got the style, you've got the grace...darling you've got a lover's face so wonderful to see..." her voice was the epitome of a romantic, strong yet with a breathy quality to it that made her seem wistful. 

He wondered if she wrote her own songs as he watched her play.

He was not the only one watching; many passerby smiled and waved to her and she would smile back genuinely, not breaking in her artful song. The creamy tapered fingers that danced across the keys entranced him; the melody was so beautifully lulling he hadn't noticed how fast her fingers had to move to create that lull. When a random bellboy tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he was all right though, he surmised that he'd stared long enough. Instead he took a seat at one of the many tables around the piano, where the guests were able to sit and listen to the music provided and order caffeine-inclusive beverages or hot-chocolate. 

"I've waited so long, for all the time that this has gone on, darling you're like a sweetly late dawn, all sunshine to me..."

Her voice lilted like magic and he found himself taking the small book he carried around with him, blackish leather tied and bound. As she sang he wrote semi-coherent notes down, notes...notes on an angel. 'The Servitude of Song...a plot in the making...' Surely he could make a story out of this; his editor had been on him about this for a while so he needed something; but what could he make of it exactly? The song was more piano than words but that just made the few words used ever the sweeter. 

"You're mine, in this there is no denying, oh darling you're like the best kind...darling you're the best kind of love so sweet." 

There was clapping, as he would learn to be accustomed to and even then found himself joining in. 

Discreetly he placed his book away in the inside of his coat and approached her as she smiled and spoke to one of the many admiring guests. And as that guest left, she turned to him, as though she knew he was coming all along, and smiled a smile he would also learn to be accustomed to, a lovely, genuine smile. 

"Hello," she greeted in a chipper fashion that suggested she was very, very happy. Somehow he wasn't surprised. This Kinomoto didn't exactly come off as a sad person after all. 

"Good evening," he graced her with one of his most dashing smiles, or so he thought. 

So equally when she turned politely away from him after a moment and began playing again, he was slightly dumbfounded. 

"Er, excuse me Kinomoto-san," he tried but she smiled only apologetically at him and with one hand as the other worked its incandescent sorcery of song gestured that he'd have to wait please. So he simply smiled through gritted teeth she could not see and retreated back to his table. He had never been quite so tactfully snubbed before, especially not by a woman. And it is perhaps because of this that he had an impulsive urge to _make_ her fall for him, to make this gorgeous and talented [hopefully unsuspecting] female fall for him, Li Syaoran, a man who got anything and anyone he wanted eventually.

Or so the eight ball told him.

_Kinomoto Sakura_, he pondered lightly. The light bulb went off in his head about this moment; this was his story. Sure it would be true...somewhat. But what better than a first-hand experience and play-by-play of his courting of the untouchable Cherry Blossom? 

This was his story.

His thoughts sated for the moment, he found himself more content than he would have been before to reclaim his previous sitting chair and listen to the flower of the song. 

"It's been a while since I saw him...you'd think I had let go...but no, no, no..." her voice was tinged this time with a sadness otherwise simple but instead given inflection that made it deep and sensuous. People of course, stopped often to listen, a crowd gathering only after the first line. 

"It's just that once you're gone you start to see those things...those things about him that I miss...his voice, his scent, his kiss...Even those habits he had like looking away...not there always...those I miss the same..." she sounded partially amused. 

"You may wonder, you may wonder, why it is I can't let go, might you?...it's just that I've become accustomed...accustomed...to loving him like I do...like I do," her smile was soft and laced with buried pain that the amber eyed wolf made curious mental note of. It seemed she really had been hurt...no one could write and sing so soulfully without knowing. Surely. 

"It's been forever since I saw him...but I never want to forget...don't let me, don't let me...It's just that once I dreamed that he'd come home and now I'm waiting, yes I'm waiting...for the time he reappears by my side, to tell me I'm not alone this time...it's that kind of thing I dream tonight...and you know, that it's so, that I...have become...accustomed...accustomed...to loving...him...to loving him like...I do," her hands trailed the last notes of the high part of the piano prettily...an evanescent echo to beauty incarnate, her voice. 

Applause...and he clapped loudest, he was certain. 

Sakura inclined her head, sending appreciative glances to her rather extensive audience, a light and becoming blush gracing her delicately defined cheeks. Was it her or did the crowd seem larger this night than others? It was as she scanned this abnormally sized crowd that her line of sight caught the impenetrable stare of one, Li Syaoran. Again she found herself subconsciously astounded by the coloring of his eyes, and a dormant stirring of something more perhaps than fascination. She'd learned a long time ago...or so it seemed...how to push such possibilities down and out though. 

He would be no different, she assured herself, even as he began to approach her for what she realized was the second time in her set that evening. And if his look was definitively appraising and his movements undeniably sensuous, a bit too intended to be so, she did not register it as such... or pretended not to notice. 

"Li-san," she greeted in the cordial fashion a concierge and predominantly serving employee would be expected to have, the difference being laced in with her undoubted geniality. 

"Good evening Kinomoto-san," he tried for the second time that night, internally praying she wasn't going to start playing again before he could at least familiarize himself with the woman.  

"Are you finding things to your liking in the Hikari?" she made the small talk seem so effortless he could have sworn she might actually care what his answer was to be, unlike other workers in hotels aplenty he had stayed in prior to this one. Maybe it was in her smile or the way her hands absently folded themselves in a deceptively demure manner on her lap, as if napping before their next activity, their next masterpiece of song. 

"Yes, that I am. Hiiragizawa certainly has made himself a fancy shindig here...successful to by the appearances of things," Syaoran replied, working his amiability to its fullest, exercising his "nice-guy" skills to their extent, careful not to overstep his unwritten boundaries. 

"He's worked very hard," Sakura nodded, a depth to her statement that Syaoran did not give much weight at the time. 

"How long have you been working here?" he asked while absently shifting his posture to become more comfortable. 

"Not very long," the Cherry Blossom smiled ambiguously and inside, Syaoran let out an exclamation of spontaneous vexation. She would have to be general wouldn't she, he moaned inwardly. _For a sex symbol and multi-million dollar writer, I'm certainly not getting very far_, he noted wryly.

"What can I do for you?" she asked innocently and the amber eyed Adonis in front of her refrained from listing the answers to that also terribly wide-ranging proposition. 

"Actually, it's been a while since I've been in Tokyo, and I don't know my way around as well as I'd like to. I could always take the limo, but there's no fun in that. Walking makes me feel less conspicuous," he admitted; this was perhaps one of the truest things he'd said to her in the entire conversation thus far. To this she laughed lightly and arched an eyebrow in challenge.

"Really? Surely a star such as yourself can be nothing like the sort when in public...?" she seemed to dispute with him from the get-go. 

"You'd be surprised," one of his trademark smirks slipped and he met her cunning with his unflappable form of knowing.

"Would I? But I don't see your point Li-san. I don't drive the city taxis; I play the dinnertime concerto," she joked and he gave a short chuckle, closing his eyes briefly and shaking his head.

"Yes, I realize that Kinomoto, but I was thinking more along the lines of an informal tour-guide, like yourself perhaps?" this was bold and maybe he was going too fast but he was used to having any woman melting into a puddle of willingness for him at his well-polished shoes...like ten minutes ago at the least. It must have been fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes if he counted the songs that she had not only resisted what he considered to be his multiplicity of charms, but also shown no interest to begin with other than the parlay they had just shared. 

And that was no more than a clever match of words and wits...he had to get to the point and if this didn't work, he'd try another option. Li Syaoran wasn't "_The_ man" of all men for nothing; he had what seemed like an endless slew of manipulations and cajoling routines up his freshly pressed sleeves...it was just that he had never had to use any of them.  

"I'm sorry Li-san, but you saw me before; surely you know my day job is full time concierge here at the hotel..." she insisted and he resisted the urge to hit his head on the large column behind him. 

"And if I beseeched Hiiragizawa to have you for a while?" he asked casually and Sakura's eyes widened a bit. 

"Excuse me?" she leaned her head to one side in minor confusion.

"If he'll allow you to take leave for a day, just one day, would you be so kind?" he phrased his words carefully here. 

Kind? That was Sakura. This was his trump card for this round...her affable politeness and compassion should win out for him if he wasn't mistaken...

"...Well, I suppose, provided Eriol is completely certain he can do on without me for a day," Sakura almost sounded like she hoped he couldn't and Li bit back a small noise of slight insult. Maybe the other women he'd been around were such pushovers he hadn't been exposed to enough of this kind of treatment, but for whatever the reason, that had him sorely put out...on the inside anyway. On the outside...

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow then Kinomoto," his smile reached his eyes in a way that was more provocative than she would ever admit but a way she also recognized on a higher level of comprehension. As his retreating form was lost to the masses of people coming to second dinner shift and leaving the first, she stifled the irregular beating of her heart. 

Surely it was due to her lack of food...nothing else, she reasoned incorrigibly. A small part of her inner voice simply sighed and shook its head in surrender. What Sakura chose to understand was a direct result from her rather unpleasant past in dealings with the male species; she couldn't blame her. Still...the Cherry Blossom would have to square with that one day...sooner than perhaps she thought. 

Blinking out of her less than cohesive thought, she drew her hands from her lap, flexing her soft fingers gently as they laid themselves knowingly across the correct keys for her next number...at least they knew what they were doing.

From across the room Yue's observant eyes had caught most everything and his acute hearing had picked up most of the other everything and neither of the two made him very happy, as was evident by the inarguable scowl on his otherwise beautiful features. _I don't like this_, he mumbled inwardly and made a note to himself to see Eriol before the amber-eyed wolf did. He didn't trust him. If apart of his unease was tinged with a shade of jealousy, he didn't concede it within himself for the time being. 

After all there was nothing to be jealous of in the first place, he persuaded himself as he continued his duties throughout the evening. This was Sakura, his _friend_, his beautiful, kind, impossibly angelic _friend_. _Nothing_ to be jealous of, his left-brain insisted and then his right flashed on the exchange between the Cherry Blossom and the infamous young author and that part of him suggested otherwise. He forced it to bury itself beneath his shallows, for now, convincing himself he simply wanted to keep her from getting hurt.

Maybe he was afraid of being hurt too...but that wasn't really important to him. What mattered was that Sakura be kept safe and if he knew one thing, he knew that Li Syaoran was anything but. 

Of course, opposites attract...but who ever listened to those tired lines anyway, Yue finally decided stubbornly as the night reached an end and he found his way to his quarters, stopping as he always did outside of Sakura's room on his way.

He knocked lightly. 

"Yue?" she knew.

"Good night Sakura-chan," he said to the door. He could feel her warmth, her smile just by being within her proximity. 

"Sweet dreams Yue," she responded and then paused before clicking her bedside lamp off. This had become a nightly ritual. 

"You too," it was a whisper, but he had a feeling she heard him anyway, even as he padded silently away to his own room for the night. 

--------------------------------

So it's been a while. I'm running around trying to update all my beloved fics, hoping they're not quite dead yet. ~_~ I HATE SCHOOL. IT TAKES AWAY EVERYTHING. BAH. 

Reviews please if you have the time; you know I have the shamelessness to STILL ask for them even after making you wait so long. Ahh the indecency of a candid author.

[only if you think I should continue this one though, otherwise I'll just let it go and try my hand again at a better plot; I know this one needs its tweaking but hopefully with time it'll evolve, ya know?]

-Kaji, the unabashedly late and stupid


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